The campaign to select the host country for either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup™ reaches its final four months, which are the most crucial of the bid process. On 19 July, the FIFA inspection delegation set off on a two-month tour to visit countries bidding to host the World Cup events in 2018 or 2022.
The delegation will arrive in Russia on 16 August for a four-day visit. Out of the 13 cities included in Russia’s bid, the committee will visit four: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi. The inspectors will examine the country’s airports, hotels, stadiums and transport infrastructure, while also assessing the presentation of the country’s bid. They will leave Russia on 19 August.
On the eve of the FIFA inspection visit, a delegation of the Russia 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bid Committee also visited the four cities.
The visit began with St. Petersburg, where the delegation arrived on 6 July to inspect the Petrovsky stadium, which was selected as a training facility for World Cup teams, as well as a new stadium construction site on Krestovsky Island.
On a visit to Kazan on 7 July, the Bid Committee delegates surveyed the construction site for a new 45,000 seat football stadium, the Central Stadium and the Olymp Stadium, of the Kazan State Technical University. They also participated in a conference with Tatarstan’s Prime Minister Ildar Khalikov.
On 15 July, the delegation was in Sochi, which is preparing to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Bid CEO Alexei Sorokin met with municipal and local officials, after which the delegation inspected the Sochi airport and the sites for sports facilities named in Russia’s bid book. The officials took special interest in several hotels and the Metreveli Stadium.
With all sites approved, Russia 2018/2022 waits excitedly for the FIFA Inspection delegation to arrive and see how truly ready the country is to host a World Cup.
Schedule of FIFA inspection visit of nations bidding to host the 2018/2022 World Cup:
19-22 July: Japan,
22- 25 July: South Korea,
26-29 July: Australia,
9-12 August: the Netherlands and Belgium,
16-19 August: Russia,
23-26 August: Britain,
30 August – 2 September: Spain and Portugal,
6-9 September: the United States,
13-17 September: Qatar.
For more information:
Russia Bid Committee for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™
Julia Cooper, Communications Manager
Phone: +7 495 660 49 80
E-mail:
Andreas Herren, International Media Coordinator
Mobile: +41 (79) 799 0046
E-mail:
